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Tuesday, December 15, 2009

(Please note that the author does not condone or support copyright infringement in any form.)

One of the hottest issues around Addis Ababa is the problem of solving the rampant copyright infringements that can be seen all over the city. Hawkers walk around the city in broad daylight selling CD, VCD and DVD copies of music and movies (both local and foreign.)

Prices range from 5 ETB for a VCD, 4 or less ETB if buying more, to 25 ETB for the latest movie that was released a week ago on DVD. Meanwhile, the same in original would cost around 25 ETB for the former and 50 ETB for the latter. The mean difference here is 22 ETB. It is this mean difference that is being fought for.

The four main actors in this drama are: the artist(s), the authorized dealers, the illegal distributors, the illegal retailers and finally the purchaser/consumer. Of these the one that makes the most profit in these dealings is the illegal distributor. While the artist loses 25 ETB on every illegal CD sold, the illegal distributor can buy one original work and duplicate it on hundreds, if not thousands, of CDs. He just can’t lose.

Now when it comes to the consumer, there are two options that are available: go legal or otherwise. And from what can be seen in actuality most go for the illegal works. Let’s look at some mistakes that are being done by all sides:

·PRICE: this is the most obvious one. The consumer saves 22 ETB. And that is one reason too many for most consumers, for the simple fact that they cannot afford otherwise. Whereas the artists do not want to budge on the price saying they too can not afford it. The Ethiopian mentality on doing business is ‘going for the highest price possible.’ Every merchant, including the Ethiopian Telecommunication Corporation (ETC) have forgotten that or lazily ignore that in the long run and with customer retention and satisfaction:

HIGH PRICE X LESS CUSTOMER is less profitable than LOW PRICE X MORE CUSTOMERS

They do not want to put any effort into sales, advertising and marketing. They just do not want to put an effort into covering a higher consumer base and providing their services at an optimal price. The same applies to the artists, they do not want to hear of a price knock off, but expect the consumer to bear the brunt. When asked why not, an answer was given that maybe if the consumer stopped buying the illegal works, they would then consider reducing their prices. Yeah, right!

·AVAILABILTY: walking in any major city in the world you will find salesmen and women trying to sell you products and services ranging from cosmetics, to edibles, to mobile phone services. In Addis Ababa, while there are some products and services being touted, there are no sales persons selling the legal works of the artists. Au contraire, the illegal ones are everywhere! Why would a consumer even bother going all the way to a legal distributor when he can get it right where he is? If they don’t bother, why should the consumer?

·Quality: the main argument that the artists and publishers have, when defending their high prices, is that they provide quality products. There is no question that one must pay a higher price for a superior product. But let’s stop for a minute and ask how many times a consumer is going to watch a movie or drama. And then again let’s ask how badly the quality of a movie or drama would deteriorate when it has been being copied from an original medium. Unless the artist is of a high caliber or a popular veteran in his field, most people will stop listening to a CD in a matter of days, or at the most a couple of weeks. A movie or drama will be seen no more than a handful of times. The quality would not even be taken into factor when the price is considered.

The only option that can solve this issue is to think of the consumer first and then the artist. Not the other way round. The principle of making the customer happy has taken a back seat in Ethiopia. The norm is wresting the money out of the helpless customer by making sure there is no other option available to them.

Maybe it’s time that service providers, of which artists are a part of, understood that the customer really is king and that an unsatisfied king will never be generous.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Although Ethiopia has a high mortality rate due to car accidents, there seem to be no documents that actually say ‘Ethiopia has the highest mortality rate in the world.’ Even the United Nations World Health Organization that is said to be the author of the document doesn’t have a report with specific country details. Another site just states it with no proof.

But that doesn’t change the fact that there is a big problem on Ethiopian roads. Every morning there is a report on traffic accidents, by Sgt. Assefa Mezgebu, on FM 97.1. And it is very rarely that the Public Relations officer of the Addis Ababa Police reports there were no accidents during the previous 24 hours.

So what is wrong with Ethiopian drivers? One only has to look around at the traffic that is flowing to see the odd ones out:

Mobile Phones: there seems to be an obsession with being seen driving and talking on a mobile phone among Ethiopians. The amazing thing is, the traffic police do not even bat an eye when a driver crawls at 10 km/hr in an 80 km/hr freeway, yapping on his mobile phone. It might not be illegal but neither would it hurt to ask him to move along and put the phone away for his and other drivers’ safety.

Drunk driving: in Ethiopia it is not illegal to drink and drive. In fact a true story is that a guy so drunk that he cannot stand straight pulls up at a gas station. Behind him comes a police officer on a motorbike. The officer just sits and watches as the driver staggers to the side of the car, fumbles with the gas cap and finally has to be assisted by an attendant. He just lets him drive away without even a warning. After filling his tank, the officer also pulls out of the gas station and spots a driver who has made a turn without turning his car indicator lights on. He stops him and gives him a ticket. While both drivers were at fault, it really needs no imagination to know which of the two drivers the most serious offender was.

Seat belts: it is taboo to wear seatbelts in Ethiopia, although the custom is slowly picking up. Drivers actually used to be ashamed of wearing seatbelts. They used to be so self conscious thinking that they would be seen as less of a driver by others; And so a minor accident would turn fatal because of one simple nylon belt, or rather the lack of it.

Lane straddling/switching: Ethiopians tend to swerve and curve all over the road. There is no such thing as sticking to one lane, or signaling before switching lanes, especially if it’s a city mini-bus taxi. Whoever is in front has the right of all the road ahead and he can keep zigzagging all he wants. He can cover two lanes and not budge if he feels like it. It’s the problem of the driver behind to find a way to go around him.

Not wearing the correct protective gear: The funniest, yet most dangerous sight one can see on Addis roads is motorcyclists zipping around the city wearing helmets. Not so funny, right? But the thing is, the helmets are construction helmets, with no straps whatsoever to keep them on. The questions to ask are: Who do they think they’re kidding? And why do the traffic police look the other way?

Road Rage/Impatience (either with other traffic or pedestrians): this needs no comment. Every Ethiopian thinks he is the best driver. And whoever doesn’t watch out, well, needs to!

Now on the opposite side of the spectrum let’s look at how correcting these minor infractions could actually solve the whole road chaos; let’s have a look at one of the safest countries to drive in: the Netherlands. It is illegal to talk on the phone while driving, unless the phone has hands-off techno. Drinking and driving is not tolerated, and therefore the amount of legal alcohol that can be found during a breath-analyzer test is minimal. Seat belts are required not only for the driver and front-passenger for those in the back too. These are just the things that are needed to make our roads safe and mostly common sense all that’s needed to make these correction, after all lives are priceless.